I think SSO is going for more of a “There is no true good or evil side.” Which can work when carefully thought out but here it just seems weird how in the beginning the dark riders n dark core clearly wanted to hurt/kill us. Now it’s like “Heehoo let’s hang out like frenemies!” And it confuses the hell outta me
100% agree with you. I feel they could've have us interact with Sabine and the other Dark Riders in a different way and still have them mysterious and scary. They gave us to much information about their past, specially Sabine and it doesn't make them feel mysterious anymore .
Another thing that bothers me with the new Dark Riders is that they don't pose a serious threat, and our fights with them never have consequences. It's all just empty words. Coming face to face with a Dark Rider should feel like a boss fight, but it's feeling more and more like encounters with Team Rocket - you do your thing, the enemies show up and intimidate you, you show off your skills and they get scared off and promise revenge - rinse and repeat for every coming quest. They feel weak and powerless. I wish that they posed an actual threat - took a Soul Rider captive, had the upper hand, succeeded in their missions, literally whatever it would take to make them seem actually scary.
i miss the old ui, i can barely find anything on my screen anymore and i miss how it contrasted well with the actual game so it was easier to see and maneuver
@@braindead2121 imagine mobile😤😡👉👈 every time i went into shop i couldnt get out👁👄👁🛍🙄😬😒😕😟🙁☹😮😯😲🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥸🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😦😧😭😭😢😢😢😢🤬🤬🤬🤬😠😠😠dont mind the emojis😤😤🥱😤😤😤😨🥱😤😤😤😰😰😰😰😤😤😰😤😰😤😰😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😡😡😡👽😡😡😡😡😡👽😤😡👽😡😡😡👽😡👽😡😡😥😥😥😡😡😡😡👽😡😠🤬🤬😠😠😠🤬🤬 thats my life in sso rn😓😩💩
The most disappointing thing about SSO in 2024 is that my wife Darko vanished and SSO team forgot abot him. Edit: HE'S BACK AND ALIVE! MY MALE WIFE IS BACK!!!
(*Dying of laughter*) Don't worry bestie! 😅 I was in the same situation. There was some sort of bug when you logged off in pandoria than you clicked: teleport to portal and it teleportred you to the place where Anne was trapped. You see shrooms you ride under them than you ride up and look for cave enterence. If They didn't deleted Darko from that place he should be waiting here for you as same as Anne trapped in pandoria. Super cool place to take photos.❤
I made an alt account recently and was devastated with the new introduction. Like you said, it feels weird having all the soul riders practically shoved in your face instead of progressively getting to know them through interesting quests. The main thing that bothered me about it though is… where’s Justin? He’s known all around for having this great talent of pairing people with the perfect horse. He’s literally the one who matched you with your soul horse! Now you just meet the starter in a random paddock and it doesn’t feel special anymore…
Ya I was wondering what happened to the introduction with Justin. Like with him being the first person we met it wasn’t unusual to have allot of quests with him involved. But when he isn’t even part of the introduction anymore it seems weird for him to be involved so much and it makes his character feel really out of place.
So, my beef with the main story quests is not only have they become directionless and senseless, but they've lost their cloistered cozy feel. The soft, cottage-like mysticism of the Keepers of Aideen had is just not there anymore; no longer are they nestled in a truly bright green Hollow Woods that... felt empty, secluded, and hollow, but a magic-filled blue-filtered one where everything is exposed. What happened to the thrillingly secretive aspect to the magic of being a Soul Rider? What happened to Mrs. Holdsworth just being an elderly grandma-figure next door? Or, what about the goons being _actual_ people who either knew about Dark Core's doing, or didn't (take Lisa's dad, who worked on the DC oil rigs in SSL). I've been playing SSO for 7 years, and usually don't complain about it... but when it comes to the main story and lore, that's where it gets me. The warmth, humour, and uniqueness of all of the quests + characters with their funky art styles is never coming back, and its been hard to reconcile with that.
I agree in some ways. I was extremely disappointed when they redid the characters, especially Lisa she went from being a rockstar to some country singer. DONT even get me started on Sabine and Jessica, or the fourth dark rider. How did Sabine go from a prestige dressage rider who grew up on wealth, to someone muscle buildinggenerals ? I was so disappointed when teasers of the fourth dark rider came out, it was actually insulting. I don’t mind how they redid her, Erissa looks interesting, but I’m sick of how SSO is turning into a child’s story. Overall I don’t hate the story line I do enjoy it and can’t wait till we fight off Garnok, but I’m also anxious. I hope they don’t make Garnok some soft cute looking octopus. 🙄
@@Messy320 You're right on the money there - especially with the Dark Riders, and not just Lisa but all the Soul Riders (in my opinion). I remember back in 2020 I got really into SSO lore, and was all about the Dark Riders and what they should look like with the update and all the theories surrounding them. Seeing how they turned out was painful. I wanted them to look and act the exact same, but just fuzzed up and updated. With Erissa, her being a child is very out of place and weird. She looks like she belongs with Madison or something, loI. I would agree that the storyline is entertaining on its own, but I just can't connect it to previous quests with SSO. I mean, I couldn't stand the whole Vala thing. That came right out of left-field to me, and just didn't fit the vibe SSO was going for once upon a time at all. I mean, I love all the stuff to do with Dark Core, but they've lost Dark Core's vibe. Mr. Sands - The Baroness' literal ex-husband - went from being a creepy/frightening/cunning businessman from England with a backstory brimming with potential to some guy they haven't used since I don't know when (putting the latest quest with Erissa aside) who conducts a commando of the weirdly-designed Dark Riders (+ a child!!) and goons that are robots, not actual people. It's not just the main quests either for me, it's the numerous side stories that have been dropped for years. I could name tons - but I digress 🤷♀️
Edit : This is the most likes I have actually ever gotten.. 170 is actually insane. Thank yooou! I find it depressing that the dark riders aren’t the “dark riders” anymore, they’re *completely* different. Sabine has a greasy rat tail for hair, they’re designs are weird now
“They’re making up things as they go instead of of building upon what they already have” THIS!!!! I’ve been saying this for so long. The story is so weird and feels so out of place because of how improvised and random it seems. I feel like we have so many unanswered questions regarding older parts of the story and lore, it all becomes a whole big mess with sudden new characters etc as you’re saying. It feels like the old lore and magic has disappeared since we’re no longer “the special girl in Jorvik” and “no one can find out about it”
I would love to see more body variation, not just with weight but with things such as shoulder size/shape, hip size, waist size, calf size, neck thickness, head size, stuff like that. It'd be nice if you could pick different features that are separated from each other.
Basically, I would love like a slider situation like in most people creating games, like, let us choose how big or small something is with a slider! That way it's super customisable and people will actually be more diverse
i've not caught up with the main story yet cause i've been really unmotivated since Fort Maria and seeing this video made me even more unmotivated. this isn't sso to me, like if they changed the names of the characters i wouldn't know who they were, they don't look realistic like they used to. like these girls went to the same school and were 'normal' teens, now they're ... i don't even know. one thing i do not understand is why they changed Jessica's race and then made Erissa white? like couldn't they made the new dark rider who has never been seen be more representative instead of a 15-20 year old design? also, you talked about how the story is getting darker, which is true, but at the same time i feel the opposite, everything is colourful and nothing is scary. being chased by the dark rides at the end of the first starshine legacy game was nervewracking and the overall vibe of old sso and the prequels was a lot darker and more thrilling. ugh i've got a lot to say, but the sum of it all is that this doesn't feel like sso.
I personally don't like the new player models, because none of them have proper curves and while it is amazing to include flat/thick body shapes, the skinny/curvy ones were completely excluded. All of the body shapes look more like toddlers to me than teenagers, and I agree that i'd rather have the old ones than these
same. i’m skinny with a big chest and so when i saw the new characters i was really sad that i couldn’t look like me. i love the faces though! the faces are great but i felt SO pushed aside by sso and i haven’t felt that way in a long time.
it’s been MONTHS and I can’t get used to them, i just wished sso had kept the older models and smoothed them out. idk what they would do about the body types for that but i just wished they hadnt made the game so unrecognizable.
I stopped playing Star Stable nearly three years ago? And in the last couple of weeks I decided to give it another try, and just, I like it? Like you said, it's really hard to get past the distrust I have for certain things, including the company and the story, but I feel much more immersed than I remember feeling for almost a year before I stopped playing. It feels like they're trying to listen, and things are changing for the better in many ways, so I actually look forward to what's next again!
I am not a fan of the new character model either. I joined right before the update until I hit the paywall, and when I finally got Star Rider, my first impression was... a character with a middle age crisis. After some tweaking (like changing the eye color, picking the right outfit and hairstyle), I got used to it. But... I feel like this new style just lacks character. I do not believe that SSO owes me old graphics just because I'm a 27-year-old fan with a Baby Duck Syndrome who was and still is a fan of the original Starshine Legacy series, but... honestly, there are better ways to go about updating the model, I do wish the art style was more unique. After all, we can all tell the difference between Winx. W.I.T.C.H. and Totally Spies. They all had art styles with unique aspects that made them stand out. Or we could look at Japan. Kyoto Animation and Ghibli have their unique styles, you'll never mistake Naruto for One Piece and the other way around. So to me, the issue is not the update itself, it was needed, but when I look at my character... I can't find a single aspect of the art style that would make it stand out, you know? All things considered, it's harmless, so I do not really mind, I just think it's flavorless. As for the story... my main concern is that it's always changing, so the story I experienced is different from the one old players are familiar with unless they create alts to refresh their memory, and there's no guarantee new players won't have a different experience compared to mine. I understand that changes happen, but this lack of consistency is quite concerning, and what also bothers me, and it might be a me problem for sure, is how they keep stepping further and further away from Starshine Legacy. I'm all for fleshing out characters and lore, after all those games were quite simple and made for kids, they're not an exercise in depth and nuance. But I feel like those old games took their players more seriously. In other words, I can't help but feel like SSO has become not just kid-friendly, it always was (just like the original games, they were made for kids), it's toddler-friendly now. That said, honestly, it's true that it could be worse, and I'd rather they get somewhere and keep developing the story. But... and I wish I brought it up sooner, I just can't help but feel like my character is not a part of the team. Or a part of anything. Just an outsider hanging out with the protags just because the plot demands it. I feel like my character doesn't really serve any real purpose, hopping between a nobody and a Mary Sue depending on the situation with no in between. I must admit, though, I like both Katjas. I like the original. She was sly, she did not hesitate to cheat, lie and use tricks, she was confident yet sinister, and the new one... oh, she's quite unsettling. She comes across as someone you want to mess with the least, if at all, because she doesn't seem like someone you can necessarily reason with, she's cold-blooded, she's honestly quite scary. Sabine... at least the new one has a lot going on in terms of personality. It may not be the Sabine I would prefer, but her presence is always unironically interesting and makes for a fun story and interesting rivalry. Jessica... is boring. I just want her horse's mane to be an option, really. And there's not much to say about the final Dark Rider yet, but I have my doubts. At the end of the day, if I hated it a lot, I would've already stopped playing by now, so I want to see where the story and the game as a whole are going. New story can work with enough effort and proper writing, and I am willing to give it a chance. I only want it to be solid, fun and consistent. And, unfortunately, I have yet to see it. Sometimes more isn't better, and I feel like they're overloading their lore with information and details that are not necessary or relevant. But we'll see. Edit: I just realized that the new Justin model looks a lot like my boyfriend, only with longer hair, and I just find it kinda funny, not gonna lie, so I like the update :'D I'm biased.
You're so right about the body types! When you show your corrections I finally started to recognize myself and the people I know in them, actually real people. I agree with most of your points and couldn't say things better myself. I learned some new things from your video and paid attention to the details I hadn't noticed before. And wow, not being online every day is definitely something I wish I could do.
He looks a bit too feminine to me. They’ve been doing that with the dudes in game lately. They better not do my man Ricky dirty I wanna see him jacked and hot asf.
Honestly, I only wear a handful of outfits now (mostly jumper and puffer jackets) because most of the outfits look crap on my body type (type 1) in the game, I’m not sure what it’s like on the others - I would have actually have liked to go with the muscular one but as a muscular girl it feels so unfinished and just pretty bad tbh.. And yessss the story is so higgledlypiggy
I think the problem with Katija is that they tried giving her a similar personality to Wednesday because it was super popular when her character was reintroduced. It's a menacing personality that doesn't quite land with everyone and at this point is a tired trope.
Lovely to see you back and thank you so much for the video💗 I agree with what you said about new character models and body types. I wish you could also choose your body type to be more like a square, hourglass, pear, apple, etc instead of having one body with different body mass. Also, I wish there were more options for faces: you could choose face shape, eyes, nose, and mouth instead of having them as a pack. We'll see what sso brings in the future
I'm not playing anymore really, also bc i hate the new characters, but i loved the path to devils gap so much more than the actual area, all the magical areas have my heart. Devils gap was a disappointment :/
I love your suggestions for how the bodies could look, I would love if my character could look like any of those three you showed 😭 M;y favorite is the second one
I agree for the most parts ! The game changed a lot compared to ALL the previous games, and how SSO started. So I think for us, OGs if I may call us that haha, it’s frustrating to abandon the story that lasted for years and never ended. It’s hard to keep on playing for me, but I did like Hollow Woods. I do miss this natural yet weird atmosphere of the game : now it’s just magic. I loved how everything ran smoothly back then, and we could even imagine ourselves there. It was subtle. Thanks SO MUCH for coming back to state your opinions, I missed your channel so much, and it really feels good hearing your voice. Thanks for your work ✨💚
I wholeheartedly agree! Everything you said was so on point and detailed, and I love the way you described the new areas and new characters. I'm really happy you were able to check out the game after a long time! I really home they make a Steve's Farm and Silverglade Village remake in the future. And I hope they keep adding more lore.
Honestly with the new dark riders i feel like they must have went through some sort of trauma along the way. the way sabine has changed her style completely, got ripped, grew her hair out and is now super aggressive with scars on her face. Katja went from having emotions to now always having a blank expression with white eyes are barley a personality just feels like something sucked the soul out of her. I feel like with jessica, she could have decided to took a leader because of sabine being crazy or is just trying to be the better of the two for “competition”. There was obvious a HUGE emotional change from the dark riders and only way to make it make sense instead of sso being lazy to look into their characters is that the dark riders went through some crazy trauma, maybe its working with mrsands, maybe its leaving their family or maybe there was some crazy outbreak and “discipline” towards them because anne was saved. What ever it was it just seems like trauma response.
I agree with what you say here (I know my reply is late, sorry :,)). I think that Sabine's facial scars come from the bridge collapse though, where she chased the Soul Riders and fell down. Just a theory though. That might have made her decide "Okay, I'm gonna buff up, this won't happen again."
Funny thing about at least the first three body types is from the front, it looks like the greats are large and a bit prominent, the to the side you get flat. That doesn’t quite compute. I chose the third body option as it was the closest to my real body type, not super heavy, but not on the slim nor perfectly in between either. Sso did say there will be slider options, but I think they should’ve waited till that was completed. I also plan to write my own sso lore since it keeps changing and it’s my way to keep track of the madness and make it make sense. I think I’ll,post it to my wattpad if it’ll help others.
I’m actually a huge fan of the new Jess! Her character to me reads as an insecure trans person. Which to be fair, definitely isn’t SSOs intention, but it’s a headcanon I’m willing to die on 😭
Oh no they did away with the painted loading screens?? I loved those, now they're just ads for the clothing and tack... Thats disappointing, I loved the illustrated scenes and how soft they felt.
I so deeply agree with the points you've made. You managed to put all of my thoughts about Star Stable's changes over the years in one video. I see that a lot of the comments have mentioned such great things as well. I do hope SSO takes this feedback onboard, but at this stage, how much of it can be salvaged? My heart breaks thinking about all of the core aspects of the original game that we have lost that could have just been updated and improved upon.
The re-edited body types are so good. I wish that's how they rolled it out. They would get a lot more diversity then. I like the flat character, but the breast position is off for someone with a smaller chest, and it's sad that a more feminine option is not available for those who would like it.
I'm a new player without any previous knowledge about the brand and lore, and have loved the character models so far. So interesting to see the reactions from long time players.
Absolutely, there’s no doubt. The way all the tops and jackets stretch over the chest should’ve been a sign for them that the proportions were way off, but no, they kept working just like everything was as it should and now we run around with enormous upper bodies and ridiculously short legs 🤡
I also stopped playing two years ago and haven't logged in since. So I will be commenting your video without any basis on my own experience with the current state of the game, but I'm not burning any bridges - maybe I will log back in at some point or another! I still stand by my opinion that the npc redesigns are... bad. The quality of the 3D models in itself is fine, but I feel like their designs are uninspired, uninteresting and lack flavour (not to mention that it basically has nothing to do with the original characters. At this point, why don't they create a new game with new story and characters, rather than pretend that Lisa or Katja are still the same people?). Well, Sabine looks pretty somehow, even if different, that I will give to them. And I have to say, as much as I don't like Jessica's redesign, her facial expressions are on point! Also, is it just me, or the new player characters STILL has awful riding animations??? It's really cool that they mention the Wettons though! I have such a soft spot for them quirky old men. The stat cap is a very good decision. I am also pleasantly surprised that you rate the gameplay so highly. That is a step in the right direction.
I haven’t played SSO in years mostly because I grew out of horses but dude it looks kind of awesome now, I might need to play it again with some friends or smth
you always take the words right out of my mouth oh my. I love listening to your opinions and how you speak about it so openly while still mentioning the positive aspects.
Same. Old Justin had such a character to his appearance. Not even joking, but I thought his new model was ripped from one of those fruit stand NPCs. Maybe it was? Lol
I guess the problem with the firefly catching is not the quest itself. But it began with having a lot less to grind and after the fast players finished it, they increased it by a lot! And for players that do not play as much, like myself, it is now more or less impossible. I stopt grinding, I dont have the motivation. It is just too much now and unfair, because the fast ones are already done and now the slower ones have to live with it… But other than that I really agree with you!
29:00 Racetracks in the USA and in Europe look absolutely nothing like the one we have in SSO, was I significantly disappointed when they updated it, because the track is itty bitty, the grandstands are not in a proper viewing position, racetrack barns generally do not look like the ones we have in the game, and we don't have a paddock to tack up horses, and to lead them around for pre-race prep. You're right, it looks more like a ranch, and not a racetrack. Spot on.
Now that we have seen more about Erissa, I must admit that I love her. I had some issues about the dark riders (mostly how they did Katja a LITERAL CAT) but Erissa's character is something I really adore. The vibe she gives off mostly. The actually old and scary woman in a kid's body, in my eyes, makes her actually scarier. Unpredictable, annoying, crazily powerful. The last puzzle. I think it's also enjoyable. At least how I see it.
I think your review very fair, and I agree with a lot of it! I broke my laptop almost many months ago and had been without any way to game for all those months (before mobile came out). When I finally was able to get back to SSO, I felt like how you did; a lot of content and it was as if I was experiencing the game for the first time again- as you said. It made me feel pretty optimistic for the future (hopefully)!
i don’t even play horse games but am fascinated by their tragic development lol. i agree w all of your points in the character design section. can’t wait to see the rest of this video lol
Also, one problem is when you first meet Anne and so one at the very start ( I made a new non star rider acc to try the new start) it has all the journal info inc “we rescued her from Pandora” etc even before the new player is even aware she disappears! I thought that was really bad tbh
I didn't notice that, but that's so bad 🙈🙈 somehow it doesn't surprise me in the slightest though, cause the timeline is so off - you meet Lisa at Starshine Ranch before saving her,, and Lisa and Anne will both show up for events (and Concorde will be in her adult form before aging her up)
I too have been always from SSO for 2 years and just got back. This video sums up how I feel about all the new updates too and how things have changed for better and bad. But overall, I too was pleasantly surprised. I hope they keep up the good work, keep up with the lore, and not pull anymore A/B testing like drama then they should be good! 😊 👍🏻
This is the first video where I see someone talking about what they like and what they don't like. It feels more awkward when someone tells you what is wrong and what isn't. In other videos like this, I notice when everyone just rants about the old days and says that everything was better back then. I love this video btw.❤
(Please excuse me and my poor writing. English isn't my first language!) I feel like Erissa could COULD be executed well if SSO were to give her a decent shot in game when we get to meet her for the first time. Which would also include the hobby horse. Nihili. (I'd like to imagine that Erissa is capable of bringing life to Nihili. It would make sense) But I also wanna say that if we as the player were to meet her. I'd like to think that things that start off as 'innocent' and such, and then it would just be thrown around to show how Erissa can really be. - And about Katja. I think SSO could redeem Katja's personality and well, lorewise. By giving her future screentime and bringing up the story in the Dino Valley about this so called 'Ice Witch' I feel like it would make sense, and perhaps give Katja more of a personality. She's indeed pretty hollow. It's kind of saddening. But now that I think about it, who knows? And honestly for Sabine & Jessica.. In my eyes Sabine is definitely designed to be the eyecatcher of the game. Look at the posts SSO has made purely just about her. Don't get me wrong, I like her. And honestly. Jessica really got me. The forced representation shows. They could have at least given her new design more of a kick just like they did with the old ones.
When The Baroness was first updated she reminded me of Queen Elizabeth The II so much, probably because of her outfit including the gloves 😅 I even wondered if her outfit was inspired by the Queen herself 😊 I also love the updated versions of both Mrs. Holdsworth and Big Bonny as well and also both the updated Concorde and Frrip too, the updated Frrip is so fricking cute and of course our beloved Concorde too🎉😊and the updated Justin is good too, I guess🤷♀️(I've never really been a fan of the character design of both the pre-updated versions and updated version of Justin) and as for Erissa. Well..... she is ok I guess 🤷♀️ I mean she is a new character, so I don't know much about her. I kinda prefer Chio more 🤣.But I till don't think she looks like an actual dark rider 🤣 The updated Baroness 's race track, Marley 's farm, Devil's Gap and Hollow Woods are great too 😊🎉❤
Something I noticed is that during the cutscenes where the dark riders are bringing back Erissa, Sabine mentions how she searched the wildwoods but didn’t find the right tree. And if anyone remembers a few years ago when they were testing Sabine’s model in game we could find her standing high up on mountain in the wildwoods. Just thought that was a cool detail.
24:55 I played the Quest with him 2 weeks ago and his Dark Core version is still the old one, there is yet no new version of him with the dark core designe
The most recent main story got me crying like what the actual fvck that was so random also I don't like the new fantasy magic path I miss the old scary vibes
1:59 GODS I'm glad I'm not the only one who don't like the new models! I for one HATE how big they are now! I feel like I can't ride any of my ponies/small horses now because of how big my character looks on the horses. That's not to say the old models were better, but they had some redeeming qualities like not being too big..
I have been playing the game so much more since the updates, Hollow woods is amazing and I love the magical elements, seeming as the Druids home base is there I hope Dino valley gets an update!
23:10 I got emotional seeing Concorde too. That was one horse character I didn't want them to mess up and they didn't. I was put off by the change in gender but her look is straight out of Starshine Legacy and I was SO HAPPY. P.S. 35:33 I agree with you on this. I still play but in the back of my mind I still don't trust them.
i very much agree on the body types but also keep in mind that they are working on more body types, adding freckles & probs more. this is just the first stage. this is just the first stage. i am skinny but i do have curves. so i would definitely like to see that. especially the body types that you showed i very much relate too. so i hope they'll add something like that. freckles & moles and such i definitely NEED. i have freckles especially on my face. i hope they will not just do one color of freckles bc my freckles are more grey-ish if you know what i mean. i don't see that often in games. also i think justin moorland looks sooo much younger. i think he looks more like he's in his early twenties. i gotta say i didn't even notice the stubles until you pointed it out and i even had to really look. they weren't really noticeable to me. but he does look younger. i do think he looks dreamy tho especially the eyes look dreamy to me. i love love love the baroness & big bonny & mrs. holdworths designs so so so much. i think they did such a good job on them and i love the details. they still look like themselves but just updated. the hollow woods update is perfect to me. valedale was already my home stable before the update and i gotta say i love hearing the sound of hollow woods first thing whenever i log on every day and getting to experience riding throught hollow woods. i actually still get lost sometimes riding through hollow woods but i don't mind it as i still get to find things like little details i haven't found before. i like the new ui and i like that you get to decide wether you want to have a small, medium or large ui to fit it more with the pc. i like that it's simple. i usually don't click on things to get for example to the inventory. i just use the keyboard like pressing "i" for inventory. overall i do like what they're adding but i haven't caught up with the main story & side quests yet. so i can't say much about those. i also like the way you explained everything in your video.
2:28 SSO cared more about androgenizing the characters for the people who had an issue with an all girl game (which was a core value). Our characters don’t even have a truly feminine option anymore. They erased my body type completely. People who have an issue with a girls only game are not allowed to complain about misogyny or sexism.
the talking horses in wild woods .... i still think it was a lazy move since than they wouldn't have to make more people and didn't have to make houses and stuff around it. also they can only talk in wildwoods but not outside?
I agree they should've polished the body types more before releasing them, but let's not pretend like the community didn't have a part to play in all that. Like... There were tons of people who were outraged at how long sso was taking to finish and release the body type update, and they were definitely pressuring sso to get it done and released. I see this all the time in games; a community pressures the game to release something asap and then they're disappointed with the product because it's unfinished. Now, mind you, I am by no means a white knight. Sso has tons of issues and honestly the player base has very little to do with those issues... But this? Yeah, while I def hope SSO takes another look at the bodies in the game and cleans them up, one can't entirely pin the blame on them when it's the player base who were constantly screaming at SSO to get it done with another half screaming at them not to dare to ever update the characters. I do think SSO is in a better place now though where it'd be a good time to start advocating more for another look at the character models since they do seem to actually be more interested in the quality of their game now and are more receptive of criticism than they used to be.
I'm the biggest hater of the talking horses of wildwoods and hollow woods. All the mystery of the game has been lost and what is even special abt The soul riders and their horses anymore?
I am curious if sso will add more areas. I also hope we will be able to see Alex and Anne’s house as you can enter Linda’s and Lisa’s but Alex and Anne’s house hasn’t been mentioned nor accessible.
great video! totally agree with the body things and i appreciate you didn't edit them in a way that wouldn't be possible for sso like everyone else did. what are your opinions on the new lunging, show jumping and dressage gameplay? also shout out to the baroness, gay icon
Great video as always. I didn't play SSO for almost a year, but I can't belive that they changed starter quests AGAIN, and for THAT?! New cutscene when our character chased Fripp at Doyl's Abbey and she/they (what this game desperately needs is a pronoun system, both my characters are she/her and when I see "thay", I'm always so bloody confused) run into Alex and Linda and they both were like "Oh, something is going on in Jorvik, we are special and you might be too but we can't tell you any more, and BTW you should do some mundane stuff instead of wandering what thell we are smoking and who's our dealer, and if it''s meant to be FATE will bring us together. Bye." was already cringy enough.
i am suprised you still have an account after 2 years ... after 6 months of being inactive, my account got deleted without a warning. It was an old account, with rare gen 1 horses and clothing and with a huge amount of money beeing spent... sad what happened to SSO
I stoped playing sso a couple years ago and I’m sad that the main quests lost the story. I loved the lore and story and now it’s just seems that it’s not special anymore like it used to be cool to be a soul rider and do the main quests it’s honestly hard for me to play the quests because the main quests just feel like side quests.
1:50 same there, i didnt liked the new character but slowly get used to it like "okay, i cant change it" just you need some new clothes so it will look good which is sad
btw justin moorland doesnt change when he joins dark core, they just use his old model with the eyebags n stuff. hopefully they update that model tho, it would be so cool to see
I love the new hollow woods but i absolutely detest the red leaves, there are so many of them while the trees are full of leaves, it doesnt make any sense
4:30 looks like me!! none of the body types really look like me, and honestly even though im not skinny like it, the general shape of the original character is more like me and it was disappointing with the character update because it was marketed as something was would try to represent as many people as possible and then... simply didn't in body variations. i love the new hair, skintones, etc but it should have been worked on more.
I would be able to get into the lore and story more if the cutscenes actually reflected the dialogue at the bottom... The example you chose of Alex's old home is perfect for this. What window is broken in that cutscene? I don't see any broken windows on the building we're focusing on, unless we're meant to be focusing on the lighter brick building and the entrance is passed the dumpster? Again, I don't see any broken windows on the building in the main shot. It's hard to get into the story/lore if the scenes do not reflect evenly... The soundtrack does far more heavy lifting to build atmosphere than anything in these cuts and its so disproportionate... We'll be hearing a super suspenseful track and the characters are just going " o___o " and waving their arms in repetition while the dialogue sounds like its written for elementary schoolers. It's just so disconnected... Also do our dialogue options even matter? There's no difference nor consequence for choosing the rudest option.
To be fair is that the body types on characters have been talked about by sso staff and they are actively working on more body types, hair styles, clothes fitting better and more face details ((like freckles, ect)). I am glad they're gonna start working on the characters more and give more body types and shapes. I'm a large woman irl so I ofc picked the larger body type so I sadly don't see the issues with the thinner body types much but the characters as a whole honestly need to be worked on and the heads do need to be smaller. My point on Erissa being a dark rider well, I can see it being something that could happen. We know very little but, if Erissa was either raised within that mindset or even worse, was abandoned as a child and the dark riders found her, it's very easy to manipulate a childs mind with the right way of doing it. If the dark riders made the world out to be bad and evil and how badly Erissa would be treated when they as a group would shower love and care on to her while also saying these things, it could make sense WHY she became a dark rider herself, she'd want to fight against what she believes is pure evil, not really knowing any better. Even more so with the comment of "Lost child", was she lost? Was she abandoned, we don't know right now but my point in the dark riders likely twisting and turning younger Erissa's mind makes a lot of sense to me.
They do seem to be putting in more effort as of late, so I hope they can bring some improvements to the table soon. Honestly I feel like we're currently in the beta testing that was cancelled, and that they're now working towards finalizing the character. Even just shrinking the head and raising the breasts would make a massive difference, and widening the shoulders. If they really want to make the character good, I think they have all the tools and feedback they need to get it done - they just need to do it.
dude the new old lady updated characters are BOMB theyre all so hot now (even in their what... 70s or higher...) and yeah sabine for me is the only well-done dark rider, the other two are boring. so boring. yeah erissas just so random, why? like why do we need her, because they cant flesh our the other 2 dark riders that are so dull. the only one you could even understand, or feel like is human is sabine yk? the other two are just there, theyre suppost to be significant but i feel like i know side characters better than them, even if they've given us so much "trouble", but i dont remember much about them from earlier quests at all lol OK last edit lol: ive been really able to enjoy sso w/ story quests and even rn w/ eq festival. i got a 2 hour delay, and spent my time (on my alt) doing all the eq quests, even though they were the same, only new clothes. i got a lot of the new clothes as both of my accs saved up 200 spring tokens, and it was so fun despite getting it all right away. once i can level up on my alt (trying not to for a comp my clubs competing in, we gotta record a routine and i dont wanna level up to 25 and be faster)
I've been playing SSO nearly enough since it started. For the last four years, I haven't caught up with the storyline at all as I'm so unmotivated. I do enjoy seeing the progress made with graphics and the horse animations etc, I actually love the location updates, though Wild Woods is something to be desired. I miss the cosiness of the original plot, characters and general feel of the game. I hardly play it now as it feels so juvenile at times. The older content was much more gripping and I HATE the grinding aspect, though by watching this it seems it got better. The archaeology quest sent me to hell and back with the sheer amount of grinding, which was one of the reasons I stopped playing so frequently. There was a period of time a few years back, that could still be the case now, where the SSO team and company did not listen to the needs and requests of the players. Frankly, it still seems that way a smidge, things are better, but I thoroughly dislike the price of star coins. That is a whole other discussion in itself
I also had a large break from 2020-2023, coming back to the game and it entirely being different. The body types are absolutely my #1 peeve. Being on the skinnier, taller side, not a single one of the body type represents me in the slightest. I chose the skinniest, and yet not a single piece of clothing fits right. When I'm playing, I try so hard to ignore how ugly fitting every piece of clothing is.
They could at least give erissa a real horse 😭 and make our characters proportional to the npcs. I’ve been a player for over 10 years and everything else I’ve gotten used to and enjoy except those two things lol
The proportions are very much those of a young teenager. It would work better if she was smaller, because then OK she would be a 13/14 year old. But you're right, she's completely disproportionate. As for the bigger body types... Pure political correctness instead of an honest look around at the world as it is. To be honest, I don't see why they couldn't have just recreated the existing avatar in a realistic body so she still looked about 18 - with the kind of body associated with someone who rides *a lot* (i.e. pretty fit - you need some muscle to ride successfully).
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
i hate how we casually hang out with sabine and some other dark riders (race them ect), it doesnt make them feel scary or special anymore
Exactly!
I think SSO is going for more of a “There is no true good or evil side.” Which can work when carefully thought out but here it just seems weird how in the beginning the dark riders n dark core clearly wanted to hurt/kill us. Now it’s like “Heehoo let’s hang out like frenemies!” And it confuses the hell outta me
100% agree with you. I feel they could've have us interact with Sabine and the other Dark Riders in a different way and still have them mysterious and scary. They gave us to much information about their past, specially Sabine and it doesn't make them feel mysterious anymore .
literally was thinking about this the other day
Another thing that bothers me with the new Dark Riders is that they don't pose a serious threat, and our fights with them never have consequences. It's all just empty words. Coming face to face with a Dark Rider should feel like a boss fight, but it's feeling more and more like encounters with Team Rocket - you do your thing, the enemies show up and intimidate you, you show off your skills and they get scared off and promise revenge - rinse and repeat for every coming quest. They feel weak and powerless. I wish that they posed an actual threat - took a Soul Rider captive, had the upper hand, succeeded in their missions, literally whatever it would take to make them seem actually scary.
i miss the old ui, i can barely find anything on my screen anymore and i miss how it contrasted well with the actual game so it was easier to see and maneuver
yesss, now it's too simply, looking like mobile game meh
and that iconic horseshoe as menu...
@@braindead2121 imagine mobile😤😡👉👈 every time i went into shop i couldnt get out👁👄👁🛍🙄😬😒😕😟🙁☹😮😯😲🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥸🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😦😧😭😭😢😢😢😢🤬🤬🤬🤬😠😠😠dont mind the emojis😤😤🥱😤😤😤😨🥱😤😤😤😰😰😰😰😤😤😰😤😰😤😰😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😡😡😡👽😡😡😡😡😡👽😤😡👽😡😡😡👽😡👽😡😡😥😥😥😡😡😡😡👽😡😠🤬🤬😠😠😠🤬🤬 thats my life in sso rn😓😩💩
The most disappointing thing about SSO in 2024 is that my wife Darko vanished and SSO team forgot abot him.
Edit: HE'S BACK AND ALIVE! MY MALE WIFE IS BACK!!!
LMAO
Hahaha
(*Dying of laughter*) Don't worry bestie! 😅 I was in the same situation. There was some sort of bug when you logged off in pandoria than you clicked: teleport to portal and it teleportred you to the place where Anne was trapped. You see shrooms you ride under them than you ride up and look for cave enterence. If They didn't deleted Darko from that place he should be waiting here for you as same as Anne trapped in pandoria. Super cool place to take photos.❤
He died, didn't he?
@@indyts3767I thought so as well
I made an alt account recently and was devastated with the new introduction. Like you said, it feels weird having all the soul riders practically shoved in your face instead of progressively getting to know them through interesting quests.
The main thing that bothered me about it though is… where’s Justin? He’s known all around for having this great talent of pairing people with the perfect horse. He’s literally the one who matched you with your soul horse! Now you just meet the starter in a random paddock and it doesn’t feel special anymore…
Ya I was wondering what happened to the introduction with Justin. Like with him being the first person we met it wasn’t unusual to have allot of quests with him involved. But when he isn’t even part of the introduction anymore it seems weird for him to be involved so much and it makes his character feel really out of place.
So, my beef with the main story quests is not only have they become directionless and senseless, but they've lost their cloistered cozy feel. The soft, cottage-like mysticism of the Keepers of Aideen had is just not there anymore; no longer are they nestled in a truly bright green Hollow Woods that... felt empty, secluded, and hollow, but a magic-filled blue-filtered one where everything is exposed. What happened to the thrillingly secretive aspect to the magic of being a Soul Rider? What happened to Mrs. Holdsworth just being an elderly grandma-figure next door? Or, what about the goons being _actual_ people who either knew about Dark Core's doing, or didn't (take Lisa's dad, who worked on the DC oil rigs in SSL). I've been playing SSO for 7 years, and usually don't complain about it... but when it comes to the main story and lore, that's where it gets me. The warmth, humour, and uniqueness of all of the quests + characters with their funky art styles is never coming back, and its been hard to reconcile with that.
I agree in some ways. I was extremely disappointed when they redid the characters, especially Lisa she went from being a rockstar to some country singer. DONT even get me started on Sabine and Jessica, or the fourth dark rider. How did Sabine go from a prestige dressage rider who grew up on wealth, to someone muscle buildinggenerals ?
I was so disappointed when teasers of the fourth dark rider came out, it was actually insulting. I don’t mind how they redid her, Erissa looks interesting, but I’m sick of how SSO is turning into a child’s story. Overall I don’t hate the story line I do enjoy it and can’t wait till we fight off Garnok, but I’m also anxious. I hope they don’t make Garnok some soft cute looking octopus. 🙄
@@Messy320 You're right on the money there - especially with the Dark Riders, and not just Lisa but all the Soul Riders (in my opinion). I remember back in 2020 I got really into SSO lore, and was all about the Dark Riders and what they should look like with the update and all the theories surrounding them. Seeing how they turned out was painful. I wanted them to look and act the exact same, but just fuzzed up and updated. With Erissa, her being a child is very out of place and weird. She looks like she belongs with Madison or something, loI. I would agree that the storyline is entertaining on its own, but I just can't connect it to previous quests with SSO. I mean, I couldn't stand the whole Vala thing. That came right out of left-field to me, and just didn't fit the vibe SSO was going for once upon a time at all. I mean, I love all the stuff to do with Dark Core, but they've lost Dark Core's vibe. Mr. Sands - The Baroness' literal ex-husband - went from being a creepy/frightening/cunning businessman from England with a backstory brimming with potential to some guy they haven't used since I don't know when (putting the latest quest with Erissa aside) who conducts a commando of the weirdly-designed Dark Riders (+ a child!!) and goons that are robots, not actual people. It's not just the main quests either for me, it's the numerous side stories that have been dropped for years. I could name tons - but I digress 🤷♀️
Oh it was probably changing of writers, happens all the time in mmos
Edit : This is the most likes I have actually
ever gotten.. 170 is actually insane. Thank yooou!
I find it depressing that the dark riders aren’t the “dark riders” anymore, they’re *completely* different. Sabine has a greasy rat tail for hair, they’re designs are weird now
GREASY RAT TAIL I'M SCREAMING😂😂
LMAO GREASY RAT TAIL, AAAAAAH
their* designs
@@nihauf🤓
i love sabines design😫
“They’re making up things as they go instead of of building upon what they already have” THIS!!!! I’ve been saying this for so long. The story is so weird and feels so out of place because of how improvised and random it seems. I feel like we have so many unanswered questions regarding older parts of the story and lore, it all becomes a whole big mess with sudden new characters etc as you’re saying. It feels like the old lore and magic has disappeared since we’re no longer “the special girl in Jorvik” and “no one can find out about it”
I would love to see more body variation, not just with weight but with things such as shoulder size/shape, hip size, waist size, calf size, neck thickness, head size, stuff like that. It'd be nice if you could pick different features that are separated from each other.
Yes! Picking different sizes in different places (I don’t think I said that correctly..) would be amazing! ❤
I just want some toned arms instead of my stick arms, but when I select the avatar with some muscles I don't like the rest of it. So yes, please.
Basically, I would love like a slider situation like in most people creating games, like, let us choose how big or small something is with a slider! That way it's super customisable and people will actually be more diverse
I also just wished they would add a more masculine body or even being a male as an option :(
i've not caught up with the main story yet cause i've been really unmotivated since Fort Maria and seeing this video made me even more unmotivated. this isn't sso to me, like if they changed the names of the characters i wouldn't know who they were, they don't look realistic like they used to. like these girls went to the same school and were 'normal' teens, now they're ... i don't even know. one thing i do not understand is why they changed Jessica's race and then made Erissa white? like couldn't they made the new dark rider who has never been seen be more representative instead of a 15-20 year old design?
also, you talked about how the story is getting darker, which is true, but at the same time i feel the opposite, everything is colourful and nothing is scary. being chased by the dark rides at the end of the first starshine legacy game was nervewracking and the overall vibe of old sso and the prequels was a lot darker and more thrilling. ugh i've got a lot to say, but the sum of it all is that this doesn't feel like sso.
I personally don't like the new player models, because none of them have proper curves and while it is amazing to include flat/thick body shapes, the skinny/curvy ones were completely excluded. All of the body shapes look more like toddlers to me than teenagers, and I agree that i'd rather have the old ones than these
same. i’m skinny with a big chest and so when i saw the new characters i was really sad that i couldn’t look like me. i love the faces though! the faces are great but i felt SO pushed aside by sso and i haven’t felt that way in a long time.
the stomachs on the skinny bodies look like toddlers 😭 its so annoying bro, i love making my characters cute n stuff but it just looks so boxy
it’s been MONTHS and I can’t get used to them, i just wished sso had kept the older models and smoothed them out. idk what they would do about the body types for that but i just wished they hadnt made the game so unrecognizable.
I stopped playing Star Stable nearly three years ago? And in the last couple of weeks I decided to give it another try, and just, I like it? Like you said, it's really hard to get past the distrust I have for certain things, including the company and the story, but I feel much more immersed than I remember feeling for almost a year before I stopped playing. It feels like they're trying to listen, and things are changing for the better in many ways, so I actually look forward to what's next again!
this actually just made me really happy
I am not a fan of the new character model either. I joined right before the update until I hit the paywall, and when I finally got Star Rider, my first impression was... a character with a middle age crisis. After some tweaking (like changing the eye color, picking the right outfit and hairstyle), I got used to it. But... I feel like this new style just lacks character. I do not believe that SSO owes me old graphics just because I'm a 27-year-old fan with a Baby Duck Syndrome who was and still is a fan of the original Starshine Legacy series, but... honestly, there are better ways to go about updating the model, I do wish the art style was more unique. After all, we can all tell the difference between Winx. W.I.T.C.H. and Totally Spies. They all had art styles with unique aspects that made them stand out. Or we could look at Japan. Kyoto Animation and Ghibli have their unique styles, you'll never mistake Naruto for One Piece and the other way around. So to me, the issue is not the update itself, it was needed, but when I look at my character... I can't find a single aspect of the art style that would make it stand out, you know? All things considered, it's harmless, so I do not really mind, I just think it's flavorless.
As for the story... my main concern is that it's always changing, so the story I experienced is different from the one old players are familiar with unless they create alts to refresh their memory, and there's no guarantee new players won't have a different experience compared to mine. I understand that changes happen, but this lack of consistency is quite concerning, and what also bothers me, and it might be a me problem for sure, is how they keep stepping further and further away from Starshine Legacy. I'm all for fleshing out characters and lore, after all those games were quite simple and made for kids, they're not an exercise in depth and nuance. But I feel like those old games took their players more seriously. In other words, I can't help but feel like SSO has become not just kid-friendly, it always was (just like the original games, they were made for kids), it's toddler-friendly now. That said, honestly, it's true that it could be worse, and I'd rather they get somewhere and keep developing the story. But... and I wish I brought it up sooner, I just can't help but feel like my character is not a part of the team. Or a part of anything. Just an outsider hanging out with the protags just because the plot demands it. I feel like my character doesn't really serve any real purpose, hopping between a nobody and a Mary Sue depending on the situation with no in between.
I must admit, though, I like both Katjas. I like the original. She was sly, she did not hesitate to cheat, lie and use tricks, she was confident yet sinister, and the new one... oh, she's quite unsettling. She comes across as someone you want to mess with the least, if at all, because she doesn't seem like someone you can necessarily reason with, she's cold-blooded, she's honestly quite scary. Sabine... at least the new one has a lot going on in terms of personality. It may not be the Sabine I would prefer, but her presence is always unironically interesting and makes for a fun story and interesting rivalry. Jessica... is boring. I just want her horse's mane to be an option, really. And there's not much to say about the final Dark Rider yet, but I have my doubts.
At the end of the day, if I hated it a lot, I would've already stopped playing by now, so I want to see where the story and the game as a whole are going. New story can work with enough effort and proper writing, and I am willing to give it a chance. I only want it to be solid, fun and consistent. And, unfortunately, I have yet to see it. Sometimes more isn't better, and I feel like they're overloading their lore with information and details that are not necessary or relevant. But we'll see.
Edit: I just realized that the new Justin model looks a lot like my boyfriend, only with longer hair, and I just find it kinda funny, not gonna lie, so I like the update :'D I'm biased.
OMG yes the low waisted pants??? I have personal beef 💀
It's giving 2003 fashion
You're so right about the body types! When you show your corrections I finally started to recognize myself and the people I know in them, actually real people. I agree with most of your points and couldn't say things better myself. I learned some new things from your video and paid attention to the details I hadn't noticed before. And wow, not being online every day is definitely something I wish I could do.
i really love your vision on how characters should look like! this is what i want to be implemented!
justin looks younger than he is. if they would make his upperbody a bit wider it would help and a bit more bones in his face
He looks a bit too feminine to me. They’ve been doing that with the dudes in game lately. They better not do my man Ricky dirty I wanna see him jacked and hot asf.
Honestly, I only wear a handful of outfits now (mostly jumper and puffer jackets) because most of the outfits look crap on my body type (type 1) in the game, I’m not sure what it’s like on the others - I would have actually have liked to go with the muscular one but as a muscular girl it feels so unfinished and just pretty bad tbh..
And yessss the story is so higgledlypiggy
I think the problem with Katija is that they tried giving her a similar personality to Wednesday because it was super popular when her character was reintroduced. It's a menacing personality that doesn't quite land with everyone and at this point is a tired trope.
Lovely to see you back and thank you so much for the video💗 I agree with what you said about new character models and body types. I wish you could also choose your body type to be more like a square, hourglass, pear, apple, etc instead of having one body with different body mass. Also, I wish there were more options for faces: you could choose face shape, eyes, nose, and mouth instead of having them as a pack. We'll see what sso brings in the future
I'm not playing anymore really, also bc i hate the new characters, but i loved the path to devils gap so much more than the actual area, all the magical areas have my heart. Devils gap was a disappointment :/
4:25 SSO really said unless you're overweight you're boobless, thanks sso .-.
4:46 this doesn't look buff, this just looks overweight..
Real, I always wear jumpers so my character doesn’t look saggy. I don’t want to look like a grandma 😭✋
This video showing up on my timeline and i was like "2YEARS ALREADY PASSED??!"
I love what you've done with the body types, it's crazy how they look so much better with only the smallest amount of editing
I love your suggestions for how the bodies could look, I would love if my character could look like any of those three you showed 😭 M;y favorite is the second one
I bailed on sso cos I loved the old aesthetic and nostalgia. Now seeing how the new models look, yikes why did they give us saggy chest wth
So happy to see a post from you! I had recently just been watching your old videos hoping for you to make a new video! Love your videos ❤
I agree for the most parts !
The game changed a lot compared to ALL the previous games, and how SSO started. So I think for us, OGs if I may call us that haha, it’s frustrating to abandon the story that lasted for years and never ended.
It’s hard to keep on playing for me, but I did like Hollow Woods. I do miss this natural yet weird atmosphere of the game : now it’s just magic. I loved how everything ran smoothly back then, and we could even imagine ourselves there. It was subtle.
Thanks SO MUCH for coming back to state your opinions, I missed your channel so much, and it really feels good hearing your voice. Thanks for your work ✨💚
I wholeheartedly agree! Everything you said was so on point and detailed, and I love the way you described the new areas and new characters. I'm really happy you were able to check out the game after a long time! I really home they make a Steve's Farm and Silverglade Village remake in the future. And I hope they keep adding more lore.
Honestly with the new dark riders i feel like they must have went through some sort of trauma along the way. the way sabine has changed her style completely, got ripped, grew her hair out and is now super aggressive with scars on her face. Katja went from having emotions to now always having a blank expression with white eyes are barley a personality just feels like something sucked the soul out of her. I feel like with jessica, she could have decided to took a leader because of sabine being crazy or is just trying to be the better of the two for “competition”. There was obvious a HUGE emotional change from the dark riders and only way to make it make sense instead of sso being lazy to look into their characters is that the dark riders went through some crazy trauma, maybe its working with mrsands, maybe its leaving their family or maybe there was some crazy outbreak and “discipline” towards them because anne was saved. What ever it was it just seems like trauma response.
I agree with what you say here (I know my reply is late, sorry :,)). I think that Sabine's facial scars come from the bridge collapse though, where she chased the Soul Riders and fell down. Just a theory though. That might have made her decide "Okay, I'm gonna buff up, this won't happen again."
Funny thing about at least the first three body types is from the front, it looks like the greats are large and a bit prominent, the to the side you get flat. That doesn’t quite compute. I chose the third body option as it was the closest to my real body type, not super heavy, but not on the slim nor perfectly in between either. Sso did say there will be slider options, but I think they should’ve waited till that was completed. I also plan to write my own sso lore since it keeps changing and it’s my way to keep track of the madness and make it make sense. I think I’ll,post it to my wattpad if it’ll help others.
I’m actually a huge fan of the new Jess! Her character to me reads as an insecure trans person. Which to be fair, definitely isn’t SSOs intention, but it’s a headcanon I’m willing to die on 😭
Yo, that's my headcanon too haha
So lovely to hear your opinions! I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't gotten used to the new characters
Oh no they did away with the painted loading screens?? I loved those, now they're just ads for the clothing and tack... Thats disappointing, I loved the illustrated scenes and how soft they felt.
I so deeply agree with the points you've made. You managed to put all of my thoughts about Star Stable's changes over the years in one video. I see that a lot of the comments have mentioned such great things as well. I do hope SSO takes this feedback onboard, but at this stage, how much of it can be salvaged? My heart breaks thinking about all of the core aspects of the original game that we have lost that could have just been updated and improved upon.
The re-edited body types are so good. I wish that's how they rolled it out. They would get a lot more diversity then. I like the flat character, but the breast position is off for someone with a smaller chest, and it's sad that a more feminine option is not available for those who would like it.
Write your own version of the SSO story! Woo hoo! (I'm privately crafting my own version... ;p )
I MISSED you talking about SSO :DDD
I'm a new player without any previous knowledge about the brand and lore, and have loved the character models so far. So interesting to see the reactions from long time players.
They really made it a priority to give the character child proportions in my opinion
Absolutely, there’s no doubt. The way all the tops and jackets stretch over the chest should’ve been a sign for them that the proportions were way off, but no, they kept working just like everything was as it should and now we run around with enormous upper bodies and ridiculously short legs 🤡
I also stopped playing two years ago and haven't logged in since. So I will be commenting your video without any basis on my own experience with the current state of the game, but I'm not burning any bridges - maybe I will log back in at some point or another!
I still stand by my opinion that the npc redesigns are... bad. The quality of the 3D models in itself is fine, but I feel like their designs are uninspired, uninteresting and lack flavour (not to mention that it basically has nothing to do with the original characters. At this point, why don't they create a new game with new story and characters, rather than pretend that Lisa or Katja are still the same people?). Well, Sabine looks pretty somehow, even if different, that I will give to them. And I have to say, as much as I don't like Jessica's redesign, her facial expressions are on point!
Also, is it just me, or the new player characters STILL has awful riding animations???
It's really cool that they mention the Wettons though! I have such a soft spot for them quirky old men.
The stat cap is a very good decision. I am also pleasantly surprised that you rate the gameplay so highly. That is a step in the right direction.
I haven’t played SSO in years mostly because I grew out of horses but dude it looks kind of awesome now, I might need to play it again with some friends or smth
you always take the words right out of my mouth oh my. I love listening to your opinions and how you speak about it so openly while still mentioning the positive aspects.
Glad that you've catched up! I've missed your videos! :)
I am the biggest hater of the new Justin Moreland
Eh I might join you on that. He looks like a pre teen now.
Bruv he looks 12 i am devastated
Same, I just can't accept him as the same man anymore. Lil bro stopped lifting and lost all muscle mass.
Same. Old Justin had such a character to his appearance. Not even joking, but I thought his new model was ripped from one of those fruit stand NPCs. Maybe it was? Lol
He was crusty but iconic. He now looks like a middle schooler and like every other npc ever
I guess the problem with the firefly catching is not the quest itself. But it began with having a lot less to grind and after the fast players finished it, they increased it by a lot! And for players that do not play as much, like myself, it is now more or less impossible. I stopt grinding, I dont have the motivation. It is just too much now and unfair, because the fast ones are already done and now the slower ones have to live with it…
But other than that I really agree with you!
29:00 Racetracks in the USA and in Europe look absolutely nothing like the one we have in SSO, was I significantly disappointed when they updated it, because the track is itty bitty, the grandstands are not in a proper viewing position, racetrack barns generally do not look like the ones we have in the game, and we don't have a paddock to tack up horses, and to lead them around for pre-race prep. You're right, it looks more like a ranch, and not a racetrack. Spot on.
Now that we have seen more about Erissa, I must admit that I love her. I had some issues about the dark riders (mostly how they did Katja a LITERAL CAT) but Erissa's character is something I really adore. The vibe she gives off mostly. The actually old and scary woman in a kid's body, in my eyes, makes her actually scarier. Unpredictable, annoying, crazily powerful. The last puzzle. I think it's also enjoyable. At least how I see it.
I think your review very fair, and I agree with a lot of it! I broke my laptop almost many months ago and had been without any way to game for all those months (before mobile came out). When I finally was able to get back to SSO, I felt like how you did; a lot of content and it was as if I was experiencing the game for the first time again- as you said. It made me feel pretty optimistic for the future (hopefully)!
Omg I LOVE long videos like this!!! This was so perfect to listen to while I was cleaning my room
i don’t even play horse games but am fascinated by their tragic development lol. i agree w all of your points in the character design section. can’t wait to see the rest of this video lol
Also, one problem is when you first meet Anne and so one at the very start ( I made a new non star rider acc to try the new start) it has all the journal info inc “we rescued her from Pandora” etc even before the new player is even aware she disappears! I thought that was really bad tbh
I didn't notice that, but that's so bad 🙈🙈 somehow it doesn't surprise me in the slightest though, cause the timeline is so off - you meet Lisa at Starshine Ranch before saving her,, and Lisa and Anne will both show up for events (and Concorde will be in her adult form before aging her up)
I too have been always from SSO for 2 years and just got back. This video sums up how I feel about all the new updates too and how things have changed for better and bad. But overall, I too was pleasantly surprised. I hope they keep up the good work, keep up with the lore, and not pull anymore A/B testing like drama then they should be good! 😊 👍🏻
This is the first video where I see someone talking about what they like and what they don't like. It feels more awkward when someone tells you what is wrong and what isn't. In other videos like this, I notice when everyone just rants about the old days and says that everything was better back then.
I love this video btw.❤
Damn I missed you and your videos 🥺 Hope you're coming back and uploading more videos if u can 🥰
this vid is so good! missed you loads x
(Please excuse me and my poor writing. English isn't my first language!)
I feel like Erissa could COULD be executed well if SSO were to give her a decent shot in game when we get to meet her for the first time. Which would also include the hobby horse. Nihili. (I'd like to imagine that Erissa is capable of bringing life to Nihili. It would make sense)
But I also wanna say that if we as the player were to meet her. I'd like to think that things that start off as 'innocent' and such, and then it would just be thrown around to show how Erissa can really be.
- And about Katja.
I think SSO could redeem Katja's personality and well, lorewise. By giving her future screentime and bringing up the story in the Dino Valley about this so called 'Ice Witch' I feel like it would make sense, and perhaps give Katja more of a personality. She's indeed pretty hollow. It's kind of saddening. But now that I think about it, who knows?
And honestly for Sabine & Jessica..
In my eyes Sabine is definitely designed to be the eyecatcher of the game. Look at the posts SSO has made purely just about her. Don't get me wrong, I like her.
And honestly. Jessica really got me. The forced representation shows. They could have at least given her new design more of a kick just like they did with the old ones.
When The Baroness was first updated she reminded me of Queen Elizabeth The II so much, probably because of her outfit including the gloves 😅 I even wondered if her outfit was inspired by the Queen herself 😊 I also love the updated versions of both Mrs. Holdsworth and Big Bonny as well and also both the updated Concorde and Frrip too, the updated Frrip is so fricking cute and of course our beloved Concorde too🎉😊and the updated Justin is good too, I guess🤷♀️(I've never really been a fan of the character design of both the pre-updated versions and updated version of Justin) and as for Erissa. Well..... she is ok I guess 🤷♀️ I mean she is a new character, so I don't know much about her. I kinda prefer Chio more 🤣.But I till don't think she looks like an actual dark rider 🤣 The updated Baroness 's race track, Marley 's farm, Devil's Gap and Hollow Woods are great too 😊🎉❤
Currently no plans to update Hollow woods more as far as I've seen :> Great video!
Something I noticed is that during the cutscenes where the dark riders are bringing back Erissa, Sabine mentions how she searched the wildwoods but didn’t find the right tree. And if anyone remembers a few years ago when they were testing Sabine’s model in game we could find her standing high up on mountain in the wildwoods. Just thought that was a cool detail.
24:55 I played the Quest with him 2 weeks ago and his Dark Core version is still the old one, there is yet no new version of him with the dark core designe
The most recent main story got me crying like what the actual fvck that was so random also I don't like the new fantasy magic path I miss the old scary vibes
1:59 GODS I'm glad I'm not the only one who don't like the new models! I for one HATE how big they are now! I feel like I can't ride any of my ponies/small horses now because of how big my character looks on the horses. That's not to say the old models were better, but they had some redeeming qualities like not being too big..
I have been playing the game so much more since the updates, Hollow woods is amazing and I love the magical elements, seeming as the Druids home base is there
I hope Dino valley gets an update!
23:10 I got emotional seeing Concorde too. That was one horse character I didn't want them to mess up and they didn't. I was put off by the change in gender but her look is straight out of Starshine Legacy and I was SO HAPPY.
P.S. 35:33 I agree with you on this. I still play but in the back of my mind I still don't trust them.
i very much agree on the body types but also keep in mind that they are working on more body types, adding freckles & probs more. this is just the first stage. this is just the first stage.
i am skinny but i do have curves. so i would definitely like to see that. especially the body types that you showed i very much relate too. so i hope they'll add something like that.
freckles & moles and such i definitely NEED. i have freckles especially on my face. i hope they will not just do one color of freckles bc my freckles are more grey-ish if you know what i mean. i don't see that often in games.
also i think justin moorland looks sooo much younger. i think he looks more like he's in his early twenties. i gotta say i didn't even notice the stubles until you pointed it out and i even had to really look. they weren't really noticeable to me. but he does look younger. i do think he looks dreamy tho especially the eyes look dreamy to me.
i love love love the baroness & big bonny & mrs. holdworths designs so so so much. i think they did such a good job on them and i love the details. they still look like themselves but just updated.
the hollow woods update is perfect to me. valedale was already my home stable before the update and i gotta say i love hearing the sound of hollow woods first thing whenever i log on every day and getting to experience riding throught hollow woods. i actually still get lost sometimes riding through hollow woods but i don't mind it as i still get to find things like little details i haven't found before.
i like the new ui and i like that you get to decide wether you want to have a small, medium or large ui to fit it more with the pc. i like that it's simple. i usually don't click on things to get for example to the inventory. i just use the keyboard like pressing "i" for inventory.
overall i do like what they're adding but i haven't caught up with the main story & side quests yet. so i can't say much about those. i also like the way you explained everything in your video.
im missing old sso tbh 😔
omg i never noticed Justin got updated what😀
2:28 SSO cared more about androgenizing the characters for the people who had an issue with an all girl game (which was a core value). Our characters don’t even have a truly feminine option anymore. They erased my body type completely.
People who have an issue with a girls only game are not allowed to complain about misogyny or sexism.
the talking horses in wild woods .... i still think it was a lazy move since than they wouldn't have to make more people and didn't have to make houses and stuff around it. also they can only talk in wildwoods but not outside?
I agree they should've polished the body types more before releasing them, but let's not pretend like the community didn't have a part to play in all that. Like... There were tons of people who were outraged at how long sso was taking to finish and release the body type update, and they were definitely pressuring sso to get it done and released. I see this all the time in games; a community pressures the game to release something asap and then they're disappointed with the product because it's unfinished. Now, mind you, I am by no means a white knight. Sso has tons of issues and honestly the player base has very little to do with those issues... But this? Yeah, while I def hope SSO takes another look at the bodies in the game and cleans them up, one can't entirely pin the blame on them when it's the player base who were constantly screaming at SSO to get it done with another half screaming at them not to dare to ever update the characters. I do think SSO is in a better place now though where it'd be a good time to start advocating more for another look at the character models since they do seem to actually be more interested in the quality of their game now and are more receptive of criticism than they used to be.
8:49 i definitely agree ! i was doing one of the story quests and i was like , they don’t really seem special anymore .
I'm the biggest hater of the talking horses of wildwoods and hollow woods. All the mystery of the game has been lost and what is even special abt The soul riders and their horses anymore?
To Justin: As a German i find justin very handsome. but it could be, becauser Justin looks a lot like Alex from the german kids-show Bibi & Tina
fr
its just so sad how it sso change
Still wondering why they didn’t update Elizabeth’s model :(
I really like her model. I think they didn't update it yet because it looks better than some other ones did
in haven't played in months, and this is making me wanna log on again
I am curious if sso will add more areas. I also hope we will be able to see Alex and Anne’s house as you can enter Linda’s and Lisa’s but Alex and Anne’s house hasn’t been mentioned nor accessible.
i loved the barbie doll body tbh
while i havent look liked that in 2 years, i still love making my characters look like that
i love the new character update but i HATE how little body types there are
alot of the jeans/ pants give diper vibes....
great video! totally agree with the body things and i appreciate you didn't edit them in a way that wouldn't be possible for sso like everyone else did. what are your opinions on the new lunging, show jumping and dressage gameplay? also shout out to the baroness, gay icon
Great video as always. I didn't play SSO for almost a year, but I can't belive that they changed starter quests AGAIN, and for THAT?! New cutscene when our character chased Fripp at Doyl's Abbey and she/they (what this game desperately needs is a pronoun system, both my characters are she/her and when I see "thay", I'm always so bloody confused) run into Alex and Linda and they both were like "Oh, something is going on in Jorvik, we are special and you might be too but we can't tell you any more, and BTW you should do some mundane stuff instead of wandering what thell we are smoking and who's our dealer, and if it''s meant to be FATE will bring us together. Bye." was already cringy enough.
i am suprised you still have an account after 2 years ... after 6 months of being inactive, my account got deleted without a warning. It was an old account, with rare gen 1 horses and clothing and with a huge amount of money beeing spent... sad what happened to SSO
I stoped playing sso a couple years ago and I’m sad that the main quests lost the story. I loved the lore and story and now it’s just seems that it’s not special anymore like it used to be cool to be a soul rider and do the main quests it’s honestly hard for me to play the quests because the main quests just feel like side quests.
1:50 same there, i didnt liked the new character but slowly get used to it like "okay, i cant change it" just you need some new clothes so it will look good which is sad
btw justin moorland doesnt change when he joins dark core, they just use his old model with the eyebags n stuff.
hopefully they update that model tho, it would be so cool to see
I love the new hollow woods but i absolutely detest the red leaves, there are so many of them while the trees are full of leaves, it doesnt make any sense
4:30 looks like me!! none of the body types really look like me, and honestly even though im not skinny like it, the general shape of the original character is more like me and it was disappointing with the character update because it was marketed as something was would try to represent as many people as possible and then... simply didn't in body variations. i love the new hair, skintones, etc but it should have been worked on more.
queen, we missed you! 😭🫶🏻
I would be able to get into the lore and story more if the cutscenes actually reflected the dialogue at the bottom... The example you chose of Alex's old home is perfect for this. What window is broken in that cutscene? I don't see any broken windows on the building we're focusing on, unless we're meant to be focusing on the lighter brick building and the entrance is passed the dumpster? Again, I don't see any broken windows on the building in the main shot. It's hard to get into the story/lore if the scenes do not reflect evenly... The soundtrack does far more heavy lifting to build atmosphere than anything in these cuts and its so disproportionate... We'll be hearing a super suspenseful track and the characters are just going " o___o " and waving their arms in repetition while the dialogue sounds like its written for elementary schoolers. It's just so disconnected...
Also do our dialogue options even matter? There's no difference nor consequence for choosing the rudest option.
holy shit im excited to watch this!!
i agree so much with the body types, literally none of them look like me and i feel like a lot of people would feel the same way
now im excited to see this
To be fair is that the body types on characters have been talked about by sso staff and they are actively working on more body types, hair styles, clothes fitting better and more face details ((like freckles, ect)). I am glad they're gonna start working on the characters more and give more body types and shapes. I'm a large woman irl so I ofc picked the larger body type so I sadly don't see the issues with the thinner body types much but the characters as a whole honestly need to be worked on and the heads do need to be smaller.
My point on Erissa being a dark rider well, I can see it being something that could happen. We know very little but, if Erissa was either raised within that mindset or even worse, was abandoned as a child and the dark riders found her, it's very easy to manipulate a childs mind with the right way of doing it. If the dark riders made the world out to be bad and evil and how badly Erissa would be treated when they as a group would shower love and care on to her while also saying these things, it could make sense WHY she became a dark rider herself, she'd want to fight against what she believes is pure evil, not really knowing any better. Even more so with the comment of "Lost child", was she lost? Was she abandoned, we don't know right now but my point in the dark riders likely twisting and turning younger Erissa's mind makes a lot of sense to me.
They do seem to be putting in more effort as of late, so I hope they can bring some improvements to the table soon. Honestly I feel like we're currently in the beta testing that was cancelled, and that they're now working towards finalizing the character. Even just shrinking the head and raising the breasts would make a massive difference, and widening the shoulders. If they really want to make the character good, I think they have all the tools and feedback they need to get it done - they just need to do it.
Holy moley she's back!
Did you notice that in the dream the soul and dark riders are all running together?I find this very interesting.
dude the new old lady updated characters are BOMB theyre all so hot now (even in their what... 70s or higher...) and yeah sabine for me is the only well-done dark rider, the other two are boring. so boring. yeah erissas just so random, why? like why do we need her, because they cant flesh our the other 2 dark riders that are so dull. the only one you could even understand, or feel like is human is sabine yk? the other two are just there, theyre suppost to be significant but i feel like i know side characters better than them, even if they've given us so much "trouble", but i dont remember much about them from earlier quests at all lol
OK last edit lol: ive been really able to enjoy sso w/ story quests and even rn w/ eq festival. i got a 2 hour delay, and spent my time (on my alt) doing all the eq quests, even though they were the same, only new clothes. i got a lot of the new clothes as both of my accs saved up 200 spring tokens, and it was so fun despite getting it all right away. once i can level up on my alt (trying not to for a comp my clubs competing in, we gotta record a routine and i dont wanna level up to 25 and be faster)
I've been playing SSO nearly enough since it started. For the last four years, I haven't caught up with the storyline at all as I'm so unmotivated. I do enjoy seeing the progress made with graphics and the horse animations etc, I actually love the location updates, though Wild Woods is something to be desired. I miss the cosiness of the original plot, characters and general feel of the game. I hardly play it now as it feels so juvenile at times. The older content was much more gripping and I HATE the grinding aspect, though by watching this it seems it got better. The archaeology quest sent me to hell and back with the sheer amount of grinding, which was one of the reasons I stopped playing so frequently. There was a period of time a few years back, that could still be the case now, where the SSO team and company did not listen to the needs and requests of the players. Frankly, it still seems that way a smidge, things are better, but I thoroughly dislike the price of star coins. That is a whole other discussion in itself
I also had a large break from 2020-2023, coming back to the game and it entirely being different. The body types are absolutely my #1 peeve. Being on the skinnier, taller side, not a single one of the body type represents me in the slightest. I chose the skinniest, and yet not a single piece of clothing fits right. When I'm playing, I try so hard to ignore how ugly fitting every piece of clothing is.
They could at least give erissa a real horse 😭 and make our characters proportional to the npcs. I’ve been a player for over 10 years and everything else I’ve gotten used to and enjoy except those two things lol
The proportions are very much those of a young teenager. It would work better if she was smaller, because then OK she would be a 13/14 year old. But you're right, she's completely disproportionate. As for the bigger body types... Pure political correctness instead of an honest look around at the world as it is. To be honest, I don't see why they couldn't have just recreated the existing avatar in a realistic body so she still looked about 18 - with the kind of body associated with someone who rides *a lot* (i.e. pretty fit - you need some muscle to ride successfully).